Business Project Plan Production of Leggings

Question: Discuss about the Business Project Plan for Production of Leggings. Answer: Introduction: Here the production of leggings is taken as the project that is to be manage with the help of project management plan ( PMP ). Royal knit Pvt. Ltd. is a knitted garment industry and this industry produces almost all types of knitted garments. This year this industry has decided to start a new project production leggings. As Royal knit Pvt. Ltd. is a knitted garment industry and leggings is a knitted garment, therefore, the management team of this industry has decided to start leggings production in this industry along with the other knitted garments that are being manufactured. As this is a new project for the industry, therefore proper project management plan is required in order to make the project work successful. Project management approach: The approach of the project management is one of the most important parameter that must be properly maintained in order to accomplish the entire project work effectively and efficiently (Wysocki, 2004). It helps to identify all the constraints that are related to the project. It includes all the external constraints and the internal constraints. The approach of the project management also helps to understand the changes that can take place on the way of meeting the objectives of the project and as a result of this the objectives can be met within the specified time. There are different types of approach that can be used in managing project and these project management approaches are known as traditional project management approach, critical chain approach, extreme project approach, and event chain project approach (Collins, 2011). Here, in this project i.e. in the production of leggings among these different approaches, tradition project management approach is used. The traditional p roject management approach contains several phases and these phases are known as project initiation, project planning and designing, the monitoring and controlling of the project, the execution of the project and the completion of the project. As in this project the scope and the objectives of the entire project is constant that is why here traditional project management approach is used. As the industry i.e. Royal knit Pvt. Ltd. Is a garment manufacturing company and it has a high reputation, therefore it is hoped that the project will not face any difficulties in meeting the objectives of the project. Scope of the project: After researching the market, it has been found that there is a great demand of leggings among the female consumers. Almost girls of all ages like to wear leggings. Apart from this the industry i.e. Royal knit Pvt. Ltd. is a reputed industry and all of its products are very demanding. Therefore, it can be predicted that the leggings that will be manufactured from this industry will attract a lot of consumers. It will be easy to stabilize the market. Project mild stone: Project mild stone is an important tool that is used in order to verify whether the project or each and every phase of the project is being completed in proper way and within the specified time or not (Thomsett, 2002). As a project work contains several activities, therefore, each and every activities of the project must be completed within the specified time duration so that the entire project can be completed within the specified time limit. The major tasks or activities in a project work are known as the mild stones in project work. In order to known whether these mild stones are being met properly or not, a mild stone list must be kept (Collins, 2011). A sample of the mild stone list is given below: Table 1: sample mile stone list project mile stone list project Mild stone number Mild stone mandatory or optional Start date Finish date verification Here a number is used in order to identify the tasks or activities of the project The s of the mild stone This column indicates that the mild stone is a mandatory mild stone or a optional mild stone The date or time on which the mild stone is to be started The date or time on which the mild stone to be finished The mild stone is verified or not Here the in the production of leggings, the key mild stones are fabric resourcing, pattern making, cutting, sewing and packaging. A project mild stone chart of this project ( production of leggings ) is given below: Table 2: mild stones of the project ( production of the leggings ) project mild stone list project Mild stone number Mild stone mandatory or optional Start date Finish date verification RKL - 01 start of the project mandatory RKL - 02 fabric and thread resourcing mandatory RKL - 03 inspection mandatory RKL - 04 pattern making mandatory RKL - 05 cutting mandatory RKL - 06 sewing mandatory RKL - 07 inspection mandatory RKL - 08 packaging mandatory RKL - 09 delivery mandatory RKL - 10 end of the project mandatory Cost management plan: It includes all the costs that are related to the production of the leggings. While managing the project plan cost must be managed effectively. Cost is the parameter that identifies the efficiency of the entire process (Wysocki, 2004). First of all the budget of the entire production process is to be identified. Then the planning must be done in such a way that the entire process can be controlled and it can be completed within the specified budget. While estimating the costs, all the expenses ( variable as well as fixed ) are to be considered. In case of the production of leggings, the fixed cost includes the cost of the pattern making and designing machine, cutting machine, sewing machines, iron and iron tables, device for labelling ( barcode adding ), and other associated cost. On the other hand the variable costs include the cost of the fabrics, threads, utilities, wages and salary. It also includes the maintenance cost of the machines, and other associated cost to any production procedure (Heerkens, 2002). The costs of the entire process must be managed in such a way so that it can be reduced to the minimal level and the best production can be obtained. With the help of the following table, the estimated costs ( fixed cost and variable cost ) of the production of leggings are given below: Table 3: Table of fixed costs Fixed costs particulars Quantity Price Total sewing machines over lock sewing machines 2 $1,000 2 x $ 1000 = $ 2000 overlapping sewing machines 2 $1,200 2 x $ 1200 = $ 2400 elastic attaching machine 1 $1,600 1 x $ 1600 = $ 1600 iron and iron tables 4 $300 4 x $ 300 = $ 1200 labelling machine 2 $250 2 x $ 250 = $ 500 Total $ 7700 Table 4: Table of variable costs variable cost Particulars Total utilities $ 3,000 $ 3,000 wages 20 x $ 700 $ 14,000 raw materials $ 50,000 $ 50,000 salary $ 80,000 $ 80,000 transport $ 10,000 $ 10,000 total $ 157,000 Total annual variable cost 12 x $ 157,000 = $ 1884000 Total annual cost = Fixed cost + variable cost = $ 7700 + $ 1884000 = $ 1891700 Schedule Baseline and Work Breakdown Structure: Work breakdown structure ( WBS ) is an important tool and with the help of this tool all the activities or tasks along with the deliverable that are included in a project work can be identified (Collins, 2011). With the help of this method, the costs associated with each and every activity can be estimated and even the duration of each and every activity of the project can also be determined. After breaking the project into small works a proper schedule can be made in order to complete the entire project within the specified time limit (Heerkens, 2002). Here the production of leggings also contains several activities or tasks. First of the fabric and the threads are to be resourced, then they are to be inspected properly, of the fabrics are suitable with the requirement then they are to be sent to the cutting department and if the fabrics are found not suitable with the requirement of project then they are to be returned as soon as possible. After sending the fabrics to the cutting d epartment, then a pattern is to be designed so that the fabrics can be cut according to that pattern. After the cutting has been done, the cut pieces are to be sent to the sewing section for sewing. After sewing the products i.e. the leggings are to be inspected. After inspection they are to be packed and ready for delivery. Hence the work break down structure ( WBS ) of the entire production of leggings is given below: Fabric and thread sourcing Inspection Pattern making Cutting Sewing Inspection Labelling Packaging Inspection Delivery Along with the work break structure ( WBS ), proper scheduling is also required in order to minimize the duration of the entire project to the minimal level. There are different tools that can be used in order to identify the proper scheduling method. The most common tools that are used in order to identify the shortest path are known s CPM and PERT (Thomsett, 2002). CPM stands for Critical path Method and PERT stands for program Evaluation and review technique. With the help of these tools all the paths by which the project can be completed can be identified. Apart from the found paths, the most suitable path or the shortest path can also be determined so that the time of the project along with the cost of this project can be reduced to the minimal level. With the help of schedule baseline and work breakdown structure, the resources that are required for each and every activity in the project can also be identified. The schedule baseline and work breakdown structure ( WBS ) of the p roduction of leggings are given below: Table 5: Name of the activities along with start date, finish date and duration name of the task start date finish date duration fabric resourcing 25 / 10 / 2016 27 / 10 / 2016 3 thread resourcing 26 / 10 / 2016 28 / 10 / 2016 3 Inspection 29 / 10 / 2016 30 / 10 / 2016 2 pattern making 31 / 10 / 2016 31 / 10 / 2016 1 Cutting 1 / 11 / 2016 1 / 11 / 2016 1 sewing 2 / 11 / 2016 8 / 11 / 2016 7 packing 2 / 11 / 2016 9 / 11/ 2016 8 delivery 9 / 11 / 2016 9 / 11 / 2016 1 From the schedules that are given in the above table, a Gantt chart is formed so that the duration of each and every activity in the project can be easily identified. Table 6: Gantt chart name of the task 25 / 10 / 2016 - 27 / 10 / 2016 26 / 10 / 2016 - 28 / 10 / 2016 29 / 10 / 2016 - 30 / 10 / 2016 31 / 10 / 2016 - 31 / 10 / 2016 1 / 11 / 2016 - 1 / 11 / 2016 2 / 11 / 2016 - 8 / 11 / 2016 2 / 11 / 2016 - 9 / 11/ 2016 9 / 11 / 2016 - 9 / 11 / 2016 fabric resourcing thread resourcing Inspection pattern making Cutting sewing packing delivery Change management plan: Generally a management plan is set for a particular project. Now if any change takes place in any part of the project then the plan may have to be changed in order to control and manage the changes so that the objectives of the project work can be met properly. Generally the change is measured depending on the baseline of the schedules of the project (Lewis, 2007). The change can take place in portion of the project such as the scope of the project, the budget that is considered for the project, the schedules of each and every activity, the planning method, the quality, risks and in other parts also. The change in the management plan must be taken properly and only if it is required. First of all, the reasons or the problems have to be identified for which the changes are to be made. It provides flexibility to the project work according to its requirement (Thomsett, 2002). The change management method includes three different stages and these three stages are given with the help of t he following figure: There are different types of changes that can be made in a project management in order to control and manage the activities and these include the change in the policy, the change in the process, the change of the system, change in the job roles, change in the scale of the project and it also includes the change of the rate of the productivity. Before changing the management plan, has to be identified whether the organisation and the people working in the project are ready to accept the changes or not. Here as the industry is a knitted garment manufacturing it is expected that the workplace is capable of accepting any changes. It is because as this industry has been manufacturing several types of knotted garments fro many years, it is expected that it has faced almost all types of changes that can be faced while manufacturing knitted garment. Therefore, it is also expected if the production of leggings require any changes to be made, that will also be in the list of the changes that t his industry has faced for these years. The problems may take place with the people. As each and every knitted garment contains several activities and after implementing these activities the garment can be formed. The main problem can take place in sewing department as different stitches are performed in different types of sewing machines and the operating methods of these different methods are different. It is not possible for each and every worker to learn to operate all the machines comfortably. Therefore, if any changes take place there may be a problem with the workers. In order to avoid such problems, the workers must be given proper training so that they can learn to operate at least three to four different types of sewing machines. In case of an emergency if any change needs to be performed, it will be very useful. Risk management plan The risk management plan is one of the most important parts of any project work. The risk management plan includes several tasks that are associated with managing the risks (Crouhy, et al., 2000). In this plan, first of all, the risks are identified. The project management plan must contain the risk management plans properly in order to meet the objectives of the project properly. First of all, all the possible risks that can take place while implementing each and every task or activity that are associated with this project are to be identified. After identifying the risks the degree of possibility of those risks along with the degree of possibility of the impacts of those risks on the project is also to be determined (Heerkens, 2002). The risks are to be analysed properly. A risk mitigation plan is also to be made. The risk mitigation includes several tasks like the risk avoidance, risk sharing, reduction of the risk, and risk transfer. Along with this a risk contingency planning is also to be made. All the risks and the corrective measures must be properly tracked and monitored. The risks can be analysed with the help of a risk matrix. A sample risk matrix is given below: Table 7: risk matrix ( sample ) Probability Severity Low Medium High High potential impact to product quality. Medium potential impact to product quality Low potential impact to product quality. There are several risks that can take place while producing leggings. First of all the fabrics must be properly inspected. There are several inspection systems and the two most important systems by which inspection of the fabrics are done are known as 4 point system and 10 point system. Here in Royal knit Pvt. Ltd. 4 point inspection system is used. The fabrics are tested in laboratory. There different parameters are tested. The most important parameter is the GSM. The GSM must be between 100 and 150. Only then the fabric can be taken for the manufacturing of the leggings. The testing of the fabric must be properly done in order to avoid any risks that are associated with the fabric. Then the pattern of design must be made. Here also proper care must be maintained. The pattern must be made in such a way that the minimum amount of fabric gets wasted and within a particular area maximum number of cut pieces can be made. The cutting must be done according to the design of the pattern. T he capacity of the cutting machine must be suitable with the thickness of the fabric ( fabric roll ). The most number of risks can take place in the sewing department. There are different types of tasks that are performed in the sewing department. Different types of sewing such as over lock stitching, lock stitching, over lapping stitch and other different types of stitches are performed in the manufacturing of leggings. it must be taken care that all the sewing machines work properly. The operators must be trained properly so that they feel comfortable in working with the machines. Apart from this the workers or the operators must provide the knowledge of the basic working principles of the sewing machines ( at which they work ) in order to ensure that if any time any problem occurs with the machine, they can check it and try to solve the problems. Though a professional team for doing such things will be available all the time, but in order to reduce the consumption of time the ope rators must be trained properly. Apart from this the operators should know the method of handling the machines; it will help them to protect themselves from any type accidents. Another risk is that the stitching can be improper if proper training is not given to them. The stitching department of leggings contains several tasks like side seam stitching, bottom stitching, hem stitching, elastic joining and attaching. The bottom seam is the first task and the side seam is the second task of this project. From the given risk matrix it can be seen that the probability of the bottom seam stitching is very low, but the potential impact of it on the quality of the product is very high. As it is the first step of stitching and it is followed several tasks, if this task is not performed properly then all the other tasks that follow this task will all go in vain. Therefore, while stitching the bottom seams proper care must be maintained and it must be done by the operators who are expert in do ing such stitches. On the other hand, the side seam joining is another task that can create several problems. From the below given risk matrix it can be seen that the probability and the severity of this task both are high. This task can create a lot of problems if proper care is not taken while executing this task. As the inspection is done after the completion of all the stitching works, therefore error cannot be detected immediately after the completion of the task known as the side seam stitching. It will result into the rework of all the other tasks also. As a result of this a lot of time will be consumed. It will decrease the overall efficiency and productivity of the entire production. Table 8: Risk matrix of the project ( production of leggings ) Probability Severity Low Medium High High potential impact to product quality. Bottom seam stitching, waist line stitching, improper cut samples Side seam joining, machine malfunctioning Medium potential impact to product quality Unskilled employee and carelessness Low potential impact to product quality. Hem line stitching Elastic attach Risk register Risk register is known as one of the most important component of the entire risk management plan (Holmes, 2002). A sample risk register is given below: Table 9: sample risk register Date Reference Number Key Element Risk group identification number Risk existing controls consequences Likelihood agreed priority Inherent rating Summary of the action responsibility Resource calendar A project management plan must contain a resource calendar (Lester and Lester, 2007). A resource calendar is known as a calendar that explains the duration of the working hours, vacations and absence. Here, in this project i.e. in the production leggings, similar resources calendar is used. From the resource calendar used in this project it can be found that the production is done all the time. There are three shifts and each of the shifts is of 8 hours. There is no fixed holiday in this project. Each and every worker working in this project will have a day off per week. Apart from this, they can take one day as leave in a month. In order to take the leave they must inform the supervisor at least 3 days before the day on which they want to take the leave. In the resource calendar all the non working days of the project are also included. Schedule management plan A schedule management plan is the management plan that helps to management all the schedules of the project (Jorda?o and Sousa, 2010). In this plan all the activities that are to be performed in the project must be scheduled in such a manner that they remain in proper sequence. As a result of this the duration of the each and every activity along with the duration of the entire project can be reduced to the minimal level (Leach, 2005). Here in this project all the activities in the production management are to be scheduled properly. The project schedule management plan can be displayed in a chart and it contains the scope of completion of the project, the baseline schedule, the final budget that is approved. Quality management plan: The quality must be maintained throughout the entire production work (Collins, 2011). The quality assurance and the quality control are the two most important factors of any project management plan. The quality of the product and the raw materials along with the methods that are being performed must be maintained properly. The produced leggings must meet the required quality and in order to do so the plan of the entire project management must be done in such a way that this objective can be made. The quality of the fabrics are checked with the help of two different types of inspection methods and these two types of inspection methods are known as 4 point system inspection method and 10 point system inspection method. Here in this industry both point systems are used, though in this particular project only 4 point inspection system is used for quality checking. Communication management plan: Proper communication must be made among the stake holders of the industry, the clients and the management team of the project. Communication management plan must be done in such a way that each and all the major information can be properly given to the clients and the stake holders of the company in order to ensure that the project is being done in proper way or not. Here in this project no client is available, as the industry does not take orders from any third party. Therefore here in this project the communication must be done between the stake holders and the management team of the project. Here the communication plan is made in such a way that achieving each of the mild stones will be given to the stake holders in order to ensure that the work is in progress positively. Apart from this, by knowing the current status of the project the stake holders can inform the management team whether any changes are required or not. Dispute or Conflict: Conflict in the workplace is a common problem and this problem can be removed or at least reduced to the minimum level if proper corrective actions are taken. There are different reasons that can result into conflicts in the workplace (Barrett and Davidson, 2006). First of all, different types of interests of the stake holders are one of the primary causes of any type of conflict in the workplace or in the industry. Another reason behind conflict in the industry is the management style of the project manager. If the management style of the project manager is not correct then several types of conflicts can take place in the industry. Therefore the project manager must manage the works in proper way so that none of the employees, operators or the workers get disturbed with the method of managing works. The change of the scopes of the project can also create a lot of conflicts in the industry. On the other hand, another reason behind the conflicts in the industry is the change in the sc hedules. It can be seen in almost any industry. This garment industry is also a part of this. It can be found when the working schedules are changed; several disputes or conflicts can be seen in the production floor (Ishikawa and Tsujimoto, 2009). For an example, if the time of delivery of the project is knocking at the door and the project is behind the schedule, then the management team tries to manage the situation by ordering the operators to work addition hours. Though the operators are paid for the additional hours, it has been found that different conflicts are created in the industry. On the other hand, if any part of the work is not done properly and the work has to be completed as soon as possible, in that case the operators have to work additional hours and in this case, they are not even paid. Thus, conflicts rise in the industry. Project cancellation or failure is another reason behind conflicts in the industry (Collins, 2011). If the methodology of the project manageme nt contains any dispute, it will definitely cause several disputes or conflicts throughout the entire project work. Staffing management plan: It is another important parameter of the project management plan. The staffing management must be properly done. Each and every person must be given suitable jobs. The operators must also be given the tasks in which they are comfortable with (Barrett and Davidson, 2006). For an example the operator who is comfortable in working with over lock stitch, that operator must be given that task or similar type of task ( if that task cannot be given ). Now if that person is given task that is completely different from that task then that operator will definitely face difficulty in the operating that machine and as a result of this the rate of the production will reduce and the overall efficiency will also decrease. The management team is responsible for distributing the works to the suitable people. Not only the operators, but all the works that are to be done in order to accomplish the project must be given to the suitable persons only. Hence, it can be said that in order to improve or main tain the productivity of the industry or the efficiency of the project, proper staffing management plan is required. Procurement management plan: With the help of the procurement management plan, the procurement requirement of any project can be defined and the method of managing them can also be understood. This plan must contain al the required steps in the project. In this case, all the activities of the production of leggings are included in this plan, from the start of the plan to the end of the project; each and every steps are included in this plan. All the documents of the tasks are also kept within this management plan. It also includes the estimation costs and even the risk management. Apart from all these a procurement chart must contain the scope of the project, the costs of the entire project, the resources that are used in this project and also the technology use in the project. The performance metrics are also included in this planning method. Conclusion: Hence from the above discussion it can be concluded that a project management plan is very important in order to meet the objectives of a project. It can be found that a project management plan contains several management plans such as cost management plan, schedule management plan, communication management plan, procurement management plan, risk management plan and several other different types of plans. Each and every plan of the project management plan must be performed effectively and efficiently in order to make the entire project work successful and fruitful. References Barrett, M. and Davidson, M. (2006).Gender and communication at work. Aldershot, Hants, England: Ashgate Pub. Collins, R. (2011).Project management. New York: Nova Science Publishers. Crouhy, M., Galai, D. and Mark, R. (2000).Risk management. New York: McGraw Hill. Heerkens, G. (2002).Project management. New York: McGraw-Hill. Holmes, A. (2002).Risk management. Oxford, U.K.: Capstone Pub. Ishikawa, A. and Tsujimoto, A. (2009).Risk and crisis management. Singapore: World Scientific. Jorda?o, B. and Sousa, E. (2010).Risk management. 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